The =Kola-nut= is used in some parts of Western Africa as a stimulant. It is about the size of a pigeon’s egg, and has a bitter taste. The natives of Guinea generally take a piece of the seeds before each meal, and sometimes nibble it throughout the day.
=Kava= is prepared from the root of a kind of pepper. The natives of the Fiji islands commonly indulge in it. Its effects resemble those of coffee. In large doses, it destroys the power of walking, and may possibly produce impairment of vision.
The leaves of the _Ilex Paraguayense_, _Ilex Gongorrha_, and _Ilex Theezans_ are made into the beverage commonly known as =Paraguay tea= or maté.
The leaves of the =Hydrangea Thunbergii= are made into a beverage, which is designated in Japan “the tea of heaven.”
Among certain nations of Asia, the =Betel-nut= (from a palm called _Areca Catechu_) is chewed, after mixing small fragments with pepper and quicklime, and rolling in a palm leaf. The saliva is tinged blood-red, and a narcotic effect is said to be produced.
The dried flowering tops of the =Indian Hemp= (_Cannabis Indica_) are smoked by the Malays and others, or made into a beverage, called haschisch, which produces a kind of intoxication, in which murder has often been committed (hence, _assassins_ equals haschascheens).
The Kamtschatkans drink an infusion made from a fungus, known as the =Fly Agaric= (_Amanita Muscaria_), thus producing an intoxication similar to that from haschisch.
=Opium= in small doses is a stimulant, in large doses narcotic. The crude drug is sometimes taken, and less frequently the active principle, Morphia. It is frequently smoked, as well as taken internally. It is to be feared that secret opium taking is considerably increasing. The taking of morphia, especially hypodermically, is too common. Generally it has been first prescribed for neuralgia or some other complaint causing acute pain; and the patient, having experienced relief by its means, is tempted to revert to the practice apart from medical advice. Such a line of action is most pernicious. Eventually both the physical and the moral nature of the victim are shattered by it; and to break off this insidious habit, when once thoroughly established, is most difficult.